Telecom-equipment giant Alcatel-Lucent saw its net loss narrow to €10m in the first quarter of 2011, thanks to sales surges in North America.
A year ago, a components shortage caused Alcatel-Lucent’s losses to increase to €515m, or €0.23 euros per share.
On an adjusted basis, net profit, group share totalled €32m or €0.01 per share, reversing from a net loss of €473m or €0.21 per share in the previous year.
Based on ADS, adjusted earnings were US$0.02 per share, compared with a loss of Us$0.28 per share in the first quarter of 2010.
Adjusted operating income of €13m showed an improvement from last year’s adjusted operating loss of €195m.
Quarterly revenue totalled €3.74bn, up 15.2pc from €3.25bn last year. At constant currency exchange rates, the revenue increase was 13.9pc.
“We have started this year the way we ended the last, increasing growth, profit and global strength, and to do so in the first quarter is particularly pleasing,” said Alcatel-Lucent CEO Ben Verwaayen.
“A favourable geographic and product mix impacted positively our gross margin while actions on fixed costs have been taken which will drive further efficiency gains during the course of the year. We improved our free cash flow by more than €200m compared to the year ago quarter.
“Market momentum remains robust, driven by demand for more capacity and service delivery capabilities in many geographies.
“While we are facing some difficulties with our supply chain, we believe those challenges will have a limited impact on our business performance, thanks to rapid actions taken. With a strong start to the year, we are reaffirming our full-year outlook to grow faster than our addressable market with an adjusted operating margin above 5pc of our 2011 sales.”
